"The Elder" and "the Younger" are

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

s generally used to distinguish between two individuals, often close relatives. In some cases, one of the pair is not known as "the Elder" or "the Younger", e.g.

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

; in such cases, they are not listed in a separate column.

People

Ancient World

Middle Ages

Note: Several pairs straddle the line between the Middle Ages and the modern era. When both were born prior to 1500, they are included here.

Modern era

Biblical and mythical figures

Fictional characters

{, class="wikitable" , + Ordered alphabetically by last name , - ! The Elder !! Notes !! Relationship !! The Younger !! Notes , - , , , , , , ,

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield'' Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work, see is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from inf ...

, , Son of David Copperfield Sr. in the

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...